Then Moses and the Levitical priests said to all Israel, "Keep
silence and hear, O Israel: this day you have become the people of the Lord
your God." (Devarim /Deuteronomy 27:9; ESV)
One of the most basic principles of biblical spirituality is
that instead of living life in such a way as to get right with God, we are
called to live life in response to being right with God. The whole Bible,
beginning with the Torah, the five books of Moses, clearly demonstrates that no
one can ever achieve acceptance with God based on the quality of their life.
Far from it! Anyone who is honest with themselves is keenly aware that our human
frailty and failures demonstrate our lack of moral excellence and personal
faithfulness to God or to anyone else for that matter.
The Bible pictures our spiritual state like that of Israel
in oppressive bondage in Egypt. Unable to set themselves free, God sent Moses
to rescue them - not that Moses was personally able to help them, but rather
God used him to display his power through spectacular signs and wonders. By
freeing Israel from slavery, God made them to be his very own people. It was as
his people they were called to live godly lives.
Yet such is our nature that we are slow to understand the
depths of relationship God has established. So Moses says, "Be quiet and
listen: today you have become the people of God." Not, "if you do the
following, you will become the people of God." It's "you are the
people of God, so do the following."
God knew the people would continue to fail spiritually and
morally, that's why he provided the sacrificial system, while also preparing
the nation for the coming of the Messiah. God has always provided whatever has
been necessary to not only establish right relationship with him, but also
maintain it. Both of those must be done in the way God intended. True Torah
spirituality demands personal humility and genuine dependence upon God, all the
while accepting that right relationship with him can only be made real through
his provision of forgiveness and acceptance, which at one time was through the
sacrificial system; then eventually through the sacrifice of the Messiah (see
Isaiah 53).
As in Moses' day, we who have been rescued by God through
Yeshua the Messiah need to realize that we have become God's people because of
what he has done for us. We cannot earn God's acceptance; we can only receive
it by relying on Yeshua.
If that is the case then why do so many people struggle over
their sense of belonging to God? It is possible that they are not really
relying on Yeshua, but are only pretending. On the other hand, there does seem
to be those who have legitimate faith in him, yet wonder if they are really
God's child. It is pretty clear to me that the biggest reason for insecurity
with regard to our relationship to God is that we are not listening to what he
is saying to us. We focus on voices that contradict, not reinforce God's word.
It's time to heed Moses' words: "Be quiet and hear;
this day you have become the people of the Lord your God."
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